Icehenge by Frank Gehry at the Inland Steel building in Chicago, IL. courtesy: freedman auctions, chicago

Friday July 24, 2026 | by Lilla Johnson

Frank Gehry's one-of-a-kind 'Icehenge' desk sells at auction for $243,200

On July 25, 2026, the late Frank Gehry’s (1929-2025) Icehenge desk went to auction at Freeman’s Auction in Chicago. Selling for $243,200 to an unknown buyer, the desk exceeded the estimate of $100,000–$200,000. The desk broke the record as the highest paid for a work of design by Gehry. In a public statement, Freeman' department head of design Roger Ward said: “The buyer is also dedicated to maintaining public access to Icehenge and is considering a temporary loan to a suitable museum or institution. Currently, no specific plans have been finalized.”

An undated portrait of Paul Marioni. photo: kim zumwalt

Friday July 24, 2026 | by Andrew Page

IN MEMORIAM: Paul Marioni (1941–2026)

Paul Marioni, one of three brothers with successful art careers, died at his home in Central Mexico at the age of 85. The father of Marina and Dante Marioni, he was born in 1941 and graduated in 1967 with a degree in philosophy from the University of Cincinnati before moving to the Bay Area when it was the center of a countercultural shift in the late 1960s. A pioneering artist working in glass, Marioni's aesthetic was shaped by everything from the personal meditations of the Beat poets, who originally drew him to San Francisco, to the earthy forms and tactile textures of the California Funk Movement in ceramics.

The unveiling of "Gathered Radiance" marked the grand opening of Abilene Heritage Square

Friday July 10, 2026 | by Lilla Johnson

Three questions for ... Carlyn Ray

Cascading through the main public library in Abilene, Texas, 400 individual glass ribbons and bubbles in a rainbow of colors hang from the air. Artist Carlyn Ray created Gathered Radiance (2026) with members of the Abilene community as a site-specific public-art project at the Abilene Public Library on the city's cultural campus known as Abilene Heritage Square.

This "Saguaro Cactus" public-art project by Gordon Huether consists of three dichroic glass cactus plants, the tallest of which reaches 20 feet tall. The project is located at the Southside Public Safety Complex at 4410 S Park Avenue in Tucson.

Tuesday June 30, 2026 | by Lilla Johnson

The magic of dichroic glass energizes an Arizona public-art project

The magical interplay of glass and light has transfixed the human eye throughout history, but perhaps nothing can compare to the color-shifting properties of dichroic glass. Advances in science have explained how specific metal oxides encased or deposited on the surface can create a dramatic chromatic shift with even slight changes to the viewing angle (similar to when a thin film of oil or gas floats on top of a puddle of water), but when you actually witness the phenomenon in glass, explanation becomes irrelevant—the effect is absolutely captivating.

The Boyd Family Memorial Window The Falls For Second Congregational Church Winsted Connecticut 1898 1

Wednesday June 10, 2026 | by Lilla Johnson

Rare Tiffany window with waterfall motif and a $1.5 – 2 million estimate going up for auction at Christie's

The Boyd Family Memorial Window (The Falls) by Tiffany Studios will be sold to the highest bidder at a Christie’s auction at the auction house’s Rockefeller Center location in New York at 3 PM Eastern Standard Time on June 10th. The window, which was commissioned by Ellen Wright Boyd in 1898, had been installed for over a century at the Second Congregational Church in Winsted, Connecticut.

UrbanGlass Executive Director Katya Heller at the 2025 gala.

Tuesday May 12, 2026 | by Andrew Page

CONVERSATION: Katya Heller on how the May 19, 2026, UrbanGlass Gala will be both familiar and brand-new

The fundraising gala is to arts nonprofits as water is to plants—without it, they wither. In a capital of arts and culture like New York City, galas happen almost every night of the week, so there is no shortage of competition driving nonprofits to come up with new ideas of how to attract new supporters while keeping loyal gala goers happy at their annual celebrations of their favorite philanthropies. This is one reason why UrbanGlass is changing some things up for 2026, such as moving the seated dinner into the glass studio, itself, which has been the site of lively after parties and glass demonstrations. To find out more about what's in store for those lucky enough to have acquired a ticket to the May 19th event, the Glass Quarterly Hot Sheet caught up with UrbanGlass Executive Director Katya Heller.

Students at Toyama Institute

Thursday April 30, 2026 | by Sahana Ramakrishnan

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS - Toyama Institute of Glass Art looking for artist-in-residence candidates for 2026

Applications for the 2026 Artist in Residence program at the Toyama Institute of Glass Art (TIGA) are now officially open to artists from around the world. Established in 2010, the TIGA Artist Residency Program is dedicated to enriching and invigorating the field of contemporary glass through the creation of innovative and engaging work.

The exterior of the National Glass Centre, as viewed from the towpath along the waterfront in 2023. photo: jo howell

Friday April 17, 2026 | by Sahana Ramakrishnan

After three decades, a final exhibition at the UK's National Glass Centre is looking like it will be its last

For nearly three decades, the National Glass Centre in Sunderland, England, has stood on the banks of the River Wear as both a cultural landmark and a living tribute to one of Britain’s oldest crafts in a region that for centuries hosted a range of glass production that can be traced back to the Middle Ages. Now, as its final show approaches ahead of a planned closure in July 2026, the building’s story is no longer just about art and heritage, but a possible bittersweet final chapter in a two-year battle to save this British outpost for glass art.

Tuesday April 14, 2026 | by Andrew Page

In Memoriam: Paul Gumbinner (1942–2026)

The chair of the UrbanGlass board from 2001–2005, Paul Gumbinner died at his home in New York City on April 3, 2026, surrounded by his wife, Amye Price Gumbinner, and his children Liz and Jeff. A father and a husband, Gumbinner was also a glass collector, an ad-man, and a recruiter of advertising talent. He was active in the New York City-based Metropolitan Contemporary Glass Group. Fellow glass collector Fred Sanders credits Gumbinner for recruiting him to the UrbanGlass board after the two met at the collector's group.

Lino Tagliapietra poses with the gold-medalist Italian skater Arianna Fontana, the most decorated Italian female athlete with 13 medals to her name, and the "Drop of Fire" vessel he made for the Olympic flame.

Tuesday April 7, 2026 | by Andrew Page

The story behind Lino's Olympic Torch project

When the 2026 Winter Olympics closing ceremonies took place last month at the 2,000-year-old Verona Arena, Italian culture was on prominent display alongside the athletes from around the world. Appropriate for the city Shakespeare chose as the location for Romeo and Juliet, the ceremony included Italian ballet, Italian opera, and, for the symbolic carrying of the flame, an Italian glass vessel artfully designed and hand-blown by the most famous Italian glassblower in the world,

Glass: The UrbanGlass Quarterly, a glossy art magazine published four times a year by UrbanGlass has provided a critical context to the most important artwork being done in the medium of glass for more than 40 years.